Finding something to hope for
by candymarie92
Summary: Hermione goes back to the time of the Marauders and the original Order to try and fix what has become of the wizarding world since the defeat of voldemort. An odd mixture of characters read the deathly hallows book. Full summary inside!
1. CH1 Aftermath

**Summary: Five months after the war ended Hermione can see only a thick cloud of depression looming over the wizarding world. Deciding that the battle with voldemort will never be over until people can move on with their lives, she collects the last year of the war into a book using a special spell and a little help, and sends herself back into the time of the marauders, RAB, and the Half- Blood Prince and a few other odd guests. More story outside the books than most reading the books. **

** Nothing had been the same since it ended. Nobody was the same. Hogwartz was no longer a place of joy and learning, it was a memorial to death and destruction. Students dreaded going back to the castle, of which parts were still being repaired. Many of their favorite teachers perished protecting the school they all loved. Dozens of their schoolmates had been casualties of the unjust ministry, or otherwise orphaned. Not a single witch, wizard, or squib came out unscathed. **

** Harry Potter may have destroyed the greatest dark wizard of all time, but he lost almost everything in return. Now all he had left was his baby godson Teddy Lupin and his best friend Hermione Granger, whose only family died in a deatheater attack despite being in hiding at the time. Harry and the Weasleys had drifted apart after Ron decided to flaunt his part in the war to the media, conveniently leaving out the part where he left his two best friends during the horcrux hunt. It didn't really matter, their friendship hadn't been the same since he left anyway, and they were all still morning the loss of the fallen.**

** Hermione wasn't in a much better state. She began to slip into a very automatic way of life, simply going through the motions by day, burying herself in books due to insomnia by night. Filling her head with information, and that's all that's all it was, information. She never put any thought into what she read, she just read. It hurt too bad to think, it wasn't worth it. Once in a while she would feel a twinge in her chest of emotion breaking out, screaming to wake up and start living life again, however she would quickly bury the emotion reminding herself "what life? Everything is gone….." and slip back into repressed pain. Finally something happened that gave Harry and Hermione hope.**


	2. Ch2 Plan

Thank you so much to all the people who added my story to their favorites and story alerts. It encouraged me to update faster I may get another chapter done today. I should have the third chapter up by tomorrow afternoon if not sooner. I have plans on it being a lot better than this chapter because I am looking forward to writing it more and have more ideas

Like I said last chapter this is my first story and any comments or suggestions are welcome. Also grammar isn't my strong point so please forgive any errors. However, I am using spellcheck.

Disclaimer: i do not own The Harry Potter books or any of their characters; they belong to J. k. Rowling.

Harry had just finished feeding Teddy his cereal when and very grumpy looking Hermione came down the stairs with a small letter in her hand.

"No sleep again?" Harry asked quietly

She just shook her head and sat down, tossing the letter at him tiredly.

"It's from Minerva"

He looked down at sealed envelope, addressed to them both, and then looked back up at her.

"How do you know?" he questioned

"Flip it over" she sighed impatiently like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

On the back was the Hogwarts stamp.

"Oh"

"Are you going to open it?" she snapped, she was always like this when she didn't have any sleep. Instead of commenting he broke the seal.

Dear Mr. Potter and Miss. Granger,

I have something important to discuss with both you.

Please come to my office as soon as possible

Sincerely,

Minerva. M

Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

P.s pumpkin juice

The contents of the letter seemed to have soothed Hermione's bad mood with curiosity.

"That's odd, what do you supposed she wants...She hasn't been in contact for a while"

"Well….she has been busy rebuilding the castle ….maybe they are finally finished" he shrugged

"Whatever it is it must be important for her to want us in their as soon as we can" she frowned

"Only one way to find out" he said before heading upstairs to get dressed

There was an unspoken anxiety in the air at the thought of going back to Hogwarts. The place that used to be their favorite safe haven was left almost nothing but rubble. They didn't want to deal with memories of the battle that claimed so many lives. But curiosity got the best of them and they had a great respect for the headmistress after the war. She had put her life on the line protecting as many students as she could, even when the battle seemed lost.

As they Dropped Teddy off at Andromeda's house, they took one last look at each other before aperateing to the entrance of Hogwarts. It wasn't as bad as they remembered it. Most of the great castle seemed to be put together. They heard rumors it was looking better but never wanted to come look. Walking through the grounds they saw a few of the remaining professors and house elf's working together to repair damage done to Gryffindor tower. Inside was still pretty broken up. It appeared they were trying to fix the building itself before working on the contents. They glanced down the great hall as they walked by. The enchantment on the ceiling had yet to be replaced, and the Slytherin hourglass was still broken however the emerald beads and most of the surrounding debris had been vanished.

"Pumpkin juice" they said at the same time

The statue jumped aside for them it felt weird to be going up there to see someone else besides Dumbledore. Finally they reached the wooden door with a brass knocker.

Minerva looked tired and worn. She looked just as weary as she did during the war.

"How are you Minerva?" Hermione asked kindly. She had given them permission to use her first name after the final battle. It had taken a while to get used to but it made for more relaxed conversation. She sighed deeply and when she spoke her voice was thick with emotion

"Horrible….the school is destroyed we are doing the best we can but we don't know all the enchantments to it, they died with the founders. The sorting hat is burnt beyond repair. Half the staff is either dead or too injured to continue work if we do manage to get things back together. About a fifth of our students never made it out of the battle and none of the muggleborns got to come to school last year so they are all a year behind….and it's not just our school that's having trouble recovering. The orphanages are full…the population is down by a third. The ministry is littered with death eaters that didn't get caught and they are making it impossible to get this mess cleaned up…not to mention everyone is in mourning. Some of the losses are so bad I'm afraid people will never get over them. Look at George he won't even smile anymore. And that's just one example"

To say they were surprised at their ex-teachers outburst would be an understatement. She may have lost her temper a fair number of times but she was never one to complain. She considered complaining a waste of time. But there wasn't anything they could do….could they?

"This has to change" she spoke with conviction and looked at them like they were supposed be able to fix it. They didn't say anything though, they figured they would get to the reason they were there eventually.

"That is why you are here" she said matter-of-factly.

"US?"

"What can we do?" they blurted out before they could hide their shock.

The corners of her lips twitched a little at their outburst. "I assure you both I have a very well thought out plan; of course it's near dangerous and breaks about a hundred ministry regulations. " This got their attention. It was starting to sound familiar. Seeing she had their attention she went on I believe you recognize this Hermione? She pulled out a delicate golden chain with a small pendant attached at the bottom of the necklace. Hermione let out a surprised gasp

"Professor that's a timeturner! "

"Correct Miss. Granger" she said momentarily snapping back into teacher mode. A look of comprehension dawned on both young adults faces. They sat there stunned for a moment before sharing a look.

"You want us to go back in time! And change history! That's so dangerous! Really bad things happen to wizards who mess with time!" Hermione was close to a nervous breakdown. However, Harry just looked thoughtful.

"It wouldn't be the first time Hermione" Harry gave her a pointed look. Hermione looked ready to argue but he cut her off.

"Let's at least hear her out, things couldn't be that much worse and even if we save one life it's worth it, we have the knowledge how to destroy him. The battles almost won." He said trying to sound hopeful

"No Harry the battle IS won" she said but she sounded like she was coming around.

"Please Mione lets just hear her out"

"Ok"

Minerva spent the next three hours explaining her plan to them; she explained that she ran across this spell that could take memories from any living thing about a certain event in an unbiased way. The memories would then be transferred into written form by a second spell. The memories could also be linked together to portray a single memory with accuracy. After the process was complete they could then add to the book by writing down any additional information collected from sources like the headmaster's portraits or old letters. That's where the timeturner came in; they would go back to the time when the Marauders and Lily had just joined the order. Once the story was done they would give the readers a choice if they wanted to chance the future or not. If they decided it wasn't worth the risk then they would be obliviated and said person could come home. If they wanted to change things said person would stay and help the order. Even Hermione had to admit it was a good plan. Seeing they were almost convinced she decided it was the right time to tell them the last bit.

"The time turner will only take one of you back" she said in a quiet voice.

They didn't seem to know what to say so she continued

"I think it should be Hermione" she said once again in her teacher voice.

"What! Why?"

But he didn't let her answer

"They are my parents!"

"EXACTLY!" she nearly yelled

"You won't be able to let them go again if you go back. Remember the mirror of Erasid? Plus Teddy needs you "Minerva said in a little softer voice. That seemed to work, he knew what it was to be orphaned, teddy needed him, and what it meant to lose your godfather.

"And I'm the best at memory charms" she chuckled nudging him. It took another hour and they had the plan complete it would take a little over a week to get the book together and then she would use the timeturner.


	3. Ch3 last minute details

A big thank you to everyone who took the time to read my story, an even bigger thank you to all the people who added my story to favorites or story alerts! I would really appreciate anyone who wants to review my story and make some suggestions. Any feedback is welcome as long as it's done respectfully. Like I said last chapter grammar isn't my bag of cookies, and I'm using spellcheck. However if I missed anything feel free to mention it to me. I'm working on my third chapter today, but it may not be finished until morning. The chapters are most likely going to be farther apart as we get to the part the stories are introduced. However I am an incredibly bored 18 year old with nothing better to do so you won't have to wait long. Anyway please enjoy my story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the awesome characters; they belong to J. k .Rowling.

Hermione's spirits lifted dramatically in the next week. She found inside herself the same fire that kept her going during the war, hope. She finally felt like she could do something positive, and really make a difference, she couldn't stand watching her friends struggle daily just to find the strength inside them to keep going. During Voldemort's reign of terror, they at least knew what they were fighting against. Those past five months had been like trying to stop a bleeding wound. Sure whatever injured you is gone but that doesn't mean the damage inflicted is repairable. Hermione felt like she just found the impossible cure. Even if they didn't want to change the future, she knew she could come home knowing that when Sirius rushed into the department of mysteries, to meet his fate, after twelve years in Azkaban, he knew for what he was going to die. Harry had been so heartbroken over his godfather's fate that maybe if nothing else she could find the right words to comfort him.

Harry, though wishing he could be the one to spend time with his parents, understood. Like Hermione he felt that even if everything stayed the same, at least they had a chance. His worst fear lies with losing his best friend. Besides Teddy, she was the only person he allowed himself to get close to. He loved Ginny but after the way Ron had been acting he didn't want to get involved with the Weasleys, or at least that was his excuse, in reality he found he couldn't bare it if Ginny was taken away from him like everyone else he managed to love. No he wouldn't let himself think like that anymore.

He couldn't let Hermione see his sadness; she didn't need to go on her mission worrying him. She always worried about him. He couldn't fathom going through life without her. She had always stuck by his side no matter how dangerous or bizarre the situation he managed to find himself in was. And she was always, although he would never admit it to anyone, a strange comfort between a sister and a mother. He didn't know how he was going to get along without her for so long.

The charm they Hermione and Minerva put on the timeturner was quite complex. The future wouldn't start changing until the decision at the end of the book was made. If it was decided the future needed help. Hermione would act as a type of secret keeper to the turner. Only the people she selected would notice any difference in the two parallel time warps. The book itself would be under the same charm. If Hermione had never mentioned the book to them it simply appeared as Dumbledore's old copy or Beetle the Bard.

Finally it was the night before Hermione was set to leave; Harry and Minerva were up in her room Grimmuald Place helping her through her huge checklist. When she had been completely through her list for a fourth time and was completely satisfied she wasn't missing anything, Harry presented her with an old shoe box.

"these are pictures of us all through our years at Hogwarts and a few of before my parents died….i thought they might like to see them….you know pictures to go along with the story and….if you get to missing us too bad-"Harry didn't have time to finish his sentence before Hermione threw her arms around him in a tearful hug. But neither one of them said anything for a few seconds. After everything they had been through together it was almost impossible to say goodbye.

"As I'm sure you are aware we have one last order of business to discuss before you go" Minerva said in a shaky tone, she and Hermione had become closer over the past week.

"Oh" Hermione summoned a quill and parchment.

"So there are the obvious people like my parents Sirius and Remus." Harry said to get the conversation going." The longbottoms, Mad-Eye, and you Minerva" he continued to list off

"You are going to need Albus to gain everyone's confidence especially Mad-Eye" Minerva mused." Of course you would want him there anyway"

"Tonks needs to be there too, I mean she will only be in her 5th year but, she is Teddy's mom, she has just as much right to be there as anyone. "Harry added. Minerva frowned at this but she knew he was right.

Hermione bit her lip" if we are to learn anything this time around it should be tolerance and unity…right?"

"Yeah"

"What about Professor Snape?" she asked unsure of their reaction.

"Your right dear, I feel horrible for how I treated him last year." Harry simply nodded in agreement he may not say it out loud but he thought he understood his old professor more now and even respected him.

"And I have one more" Hermione said as if she was a little unsure of it herself. "Regulus Black, I know we don't know as much about him as the others but. He died a hero's death fighting against Voldemort just like the rest of them did. He put Kreacher's life before his own. And along with Professor Snape we are going to need as many spies as we can get. Voldemort knows better than to put all his eggs in one basket.

"Yeah he was the first to find out about the horcrux" Harry added. It was silent except the scratching of the quill.

"So that's it right?" Hermione said in a very final kind of voice.

"Not quite"

"Yes?"

"The Malfoys"

"What about them?"

"Well if we can bring them over to the light side that will help us bunches!"

"Harry you have to be out of your mind. THEY DON'T WANT TO HELP US. THEY ENJOY BEING PUREBLOOD BIGOTS!" Hermione was close to hysterics.

"Hermione –no just listen!" Harry had to work hard to get his point across "The war didn't come out in their favor, at the final battle they didn't care who won just as long as their family was ok. This will be a good eye-opener for EVERYONE, and if it doesn't work you can just wipe their memory!"

"He is right Hermione, and they will be a lot younger then you remember, so they won't be so intimidating."

"Ok but I want to talk to the others before they show up, I still don't trust them!"

"We don't expect you to dear, just remember they haven't done anything yet" Minerva was peering at her over her glasses and she knew better than to argue.

"Anyone else?" she grumbled

"Not that I can think of" Harry smirked at her bad mood.

"I must be getting back to the school dears, but I will be back in the morning to see you off" and with that she stepped into the floo and was gone. It wasn't thirty minutes later they decided it was time for bed, and for the first time in over a year, they slept peacefully.

Ok so I know this is another short chapter but that's because it's getting late so I decided to make this one chapter then tomorrow I plan us meeting our past characters and getting through the first chapter of the book and that will start out the longer chapters.


	4. Ch4 meet the parents

Thank you sooooo much to all the people who added my story to their reviews and alerts, it made me so excited to finish this story. It made me really happy to see that I finally got some reviews. I hope to get more this time since this chapter is longer.

To the person who asked, no I'm not going to Dumbledore bash, but they will realize that he is only human. I really like Dumbledore's character too, and everyone makes mistakes.

Nobody has complained about my grammar so far, so spell check must be doing its job.

I'm sorry this post is so late; I keep bouncing ideas around in my head. I will try and post the next one sooner.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters; they belong to J. k. Rowling

_**Slanted and bold mean thought,**_** just bold is a text of some kind.**

Hermione woke with a start, to Teddy pulling on her hair and then changing his own turquoise hair brown and curly.

"Good morning Teddy"

"I was wondering how long it would take him to wake you up, pancakes are ready" Harry chuckled before picking teddy up and leaving her to get ready.

"Wow" she said to herself sitting up.

"In a few hours, it will be 20 years ago" She was feeling a strange mixture of excitement and fear.

She decided to take extra care in getting ready this morning; she really wanted to make a good first impression. When she finally came downstairs she had a grey turtleneck sweater, dark blue jeans, and black boots. Thankfully her hair had lost its craziness about two years ago so she just left it down and parted slightly to the left. She wore light makeup. Some pale gold eye shadow with just a touch of mascara and lip-gloss.

"You look nice, but your foods cold." Minerva laughed from behind her coffee cup before taking another sip. Harry laughed and heated the pancakes and bacon up with his wand.

"I am too nervous to eat Harry, thanks though" she said she was getting more nervous now that she was dressed and ready to go.

"You have to eat" Harry said sternly. There was no point in arguing with him, Minerva would be on his side, and she would have said the same thing to him. As she ate harry handed her what looked to be a muggle cellphone.

"I have one identical to this, it runs on magic not electricity, so not only can it work in our world, but it will let us exchange messages across the time warp. You can get ahold of us if you need us. This won't be any easy mission; half the people reading this book won't get along." Despite himself he was looking smug at the expression on Hermione's face.

"Oh my, this is wonderful!" she exclaimed giving him a huge hug

"Don't thank me yet" He chuckled and pulled out her iPod from his pocket.

"This is enchanted the same way"

"Oh Harry thank you thank you thank you thank you" She looked so happy, he was certain she would burst with excitement.

"Are you two ready?" Minerva asked looking very amused. She had no clue what the second idem was.

"Yes" they said in unison, then apperated to Godric's Hollow. It was still as they remembered it From Christmas last year. Shivers went down Hermione's spine as she remembered the events of that day. It was early December again it was starting to snow. She could see Harrys eyes keep jerking towards the cemetery. She and Minerva shared a look.

"Harry would you like to pay them a visit?" Minerva said in a surprisingly soft voice. He just nodded. It didn't take them long to find his parents graves. The three stood there for a while, each in their own thoughts. Seeing the grave of the people she was going to meet in a few minutes seemed to bring tears to her eyes. Her heart was begging her to help them, to help her friend.

"This can't happen, it's just not right. "Harry looked up at her, tears in his own emerald eyes, and nodded

"I know" he whispered before pulling her into a fierce hug

"I should go know so I'm not much more of an emotional basket case when I get there" she tried to joke before looking solemn again. She looked at the graves one last time before she created a beautiful wreath of Christmas flowers and handed it to Harry. He looked at it for a moment before setting it lying on the headstone.

"Bye Mione" he said pulling her into one last hug

"See you soon" Minerva joked lightly. She gave them both one last watery smile before pulling out her timeturner and setting it

"Bye" she whispered as she felt herself begin to fade back into time.

When she opened her eyes again, there was only deep snow where the Potters headstone laid a moment before. She felt a pang at her heart, _**this is it…I can't believe I'm doing this….not that I don't want to….i just have no clue how I'm going to get these people to not think I'm crazy…heck I would think I'm crazy,**_ all these thoughts were going through her head as she walked up to the spot that once held nothing but rubble.__It was a very cute two story house. The snow made it look like something out of a fairytale. It filled her heart with sadness;_** Harry would have had such a happy childhood here. It seems so perfect. Harry needs to see this. **_Remembering the Cell phone she was given, she took it out and tried to inconspicuously take a picture of the house. The picture didn't do it justice but it still looked lovely. A few minute later she got a text: **it's better than I imagined, thank you. **Failing to find another reason to stall, she walked up the stone path and knocked on the door.

"Hey paddy" she herd before the door was even fully open.

"Oh" said a very concerned looking James, and his wand was out in a flash "Not to be rude but who are you?"

"Hermione Granger, sir" she said softly, she knew raising her wand would be a bad idea, even if it felt instinctual.

"I'm sorry but I don't know you, could you please tell me what you're doing here? James said in a stern voice.

"Well I was hoping you might help me contact Professor Dumbledore, you won't believe why I am here without him" _**this will be harder than I thought. **_

"How do I know you're not a death eater "he said looking highly confused. She rolled up her left sleeve and showed him her bare arm.

"How about I let you have my wand until Dumbledore gets here, I understand it is unwise in these times to give a stranger trust." She proved her statement by taking out her want and tossing it to him. Now she understood where Professor Lupin was coming from all those years ago. He visibly relaxed

"Ok, well you might as well come in. i guess there isn't much you can do without a wand." He didn't fully trust her, but it said a lot she was willing to give up her wand. He gestured her down the hall and into a cozy living room.

"Please sit down, oh, and never call me sir again, my name is James" he said like the term offended him. She was too nervous to say anything so she gave a weak smile and nodded.

"I am going to fill my wife in, I will be back in a minute" he left and went straight upstairs. The room was filled with warm tones of or brown and gold. It had gone better then she thought it would so far, but the worst was yet to come.

"Hello" said a kind looking female that Hermione recognized immediately as Harrys mom. "I'm Lily Potter" Hermione managed to smile at her as she shook her hand.

"I'm Hermione Granger, very nice to meet you" she replied, _**you just don't know how nice.**_ Just then there was another knock at the door and James jumped up to answer it. She herd the now familiar greeting and listened awkwardly to a mumbled explanation of the fact there was a strange girl in his house. As they walked in Lily Jumped up and decided to go make some hot chocolate to warm everyone up. Sirius failed miserably at trying not to stare. She wasn't sure what approach to use with him so she decided to treat him almost like she would have his future self. "So I'm guessing your paddy?" She said in a pleasant voice.

"That's what some people call me" he replied almost jokingly. "I'm Sirius Black "he said shaking her hand. "

"Hermione Granger" before this was over she was going to get sick of introducing herself.

"So why did you come here if you want Dumbledore?" he said not being able to hold his questions in anymore.

"Sirius!" Lily scolded from the doorway carrying in four mugs of hot chocolate.

"It's really ok, I would be more concerned if you all didn't ask questions" she replied trying to figure out her response.

"I'm really here to see them, both of you actually." her words weren't coming out right.

"How did you know I would be here? "He said looking confused and slightly alarmed.

"I didn't really, you just happened to be here" she clarified "I know you are all confused and want answers, but I would rather wait until Dumbledore's here, I think he is most likely to believe me" she said hoping they would leave it alone.

"Why won't we believe you?" James asked suspiciously

"Because if I was in your position I wouldn't believe me either, you don't know me, and what I have to say is insane, but it's true and somehow I have to get you and a few others to not only believe me but also trust me." She said it hoping it was making some sense and giving them enough information to back off

"Try us" Lily spoke up for the first time since she entered the room, Hermione had almost forgotten she was in there

"Even if we don't believe you, we promise to let you stay until Dumbledore gets here." Lily looked towards James for support.

_**If they believe me this will have gone way to easy, but it's really not fair for me to not tell them…they have been so polite considering. She ran it over quickly in her head.**_

"Ok first what is the date" She said wanting to make sure she was in the right year

"December 13" Sirius said automatically.

"Um…and the year?" they weren't making things easy for her.

"1979" James said not bothering to hide the confusion in his voice. _**Why would someone need the year? And why does she look so relived? **_

"OK good" but then she added quickly "I'm from about 21 years in the future, I brought a book with me that will hopefully aid in the fight against Voldemort" she looked down for a minute to brace herself for whatever they were going to say but then looked up at the silence. All three of them were looking at her with wide eyes. Sirius was the first to gain composer.

"Prove it" he said looking like he didn't believe a word of it.

"Ok Sirius black. Your full nickname is Padfoot which you got because your animagus is a big black dog which bears a striking resemblance to the grim" he didn't say anything stunned so she decided it was best to just continue "James nickname is prongs because he turns into a stag" more shocked silence "You along with Peter aka Wormtail rat animagus, wanted to help your other best friend Remus aka Moony because werewolves are only dangerous to humans." They were still trying to sort everything out in their head when she started again.

"Lily, you first found out you are a witch when Severus saw you hover after jumping off a swing. You got really offended when he called you a witch until he explained it better" Finally James had recovered "Ok so how does this prove you are from the future I mean I'm sure there are other ways for you to have gotten this information"

"Although I don't see how" Sirius added.

"Ok, if this don't make you believe me nothing will', she moved to face Lily " you are about a month pregnant, it's a boy, go ahead cast a screening charm" they were all in a shocked silence while she cast the charm, and sure enough a blue glow spread around her. The past was torn between shock Hermione seemed to actually be from the future and joy at the news. Just as everyone's emotions were settling down the fireplace burst with green flames and someone stepped out


	5. Ch5 Thats not the worst

I didn't get much response to my last post which made me a little sad, but its ok maybe I will have better luck with this chapter. The more I think about it the more I am wishing I would have started at the beginning of the Harry Potter series; maybe I will try that after I finish this. I have been putting a lot of thought into this Fan Fic and I kind of want to add some romance into it but I'm not sure which characters to include. Any suggestions would be helpful. I want it to be between Hermione and one other character. Anyway, thank you to everyone who read my story or put it on their story alerts or favorites. Any comments or suggestions are more than welcome. Nobody has complained about my grammar so spell check must be doing its job.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters; they belong to J. K. Rowling

_**Slanted and bold means thought **_

**Bold means text of some kind**

_The past was torn between shock Hermione seemed to actually be from the future and joy at the news. Just as everyone's emotions were settling down, the fireplace burst with green flames and someone stepped out. _

"Hello Professor, My name is Hermione Granger" she said as she shook the older gentleman's hand.

Before she could continue James and Sirius started Bouncing around the room, apparently their shock was over.

"I'm going to be a daddy I'm going to be a daddy" James was jumping all over the room singing. His seemed a less mature now that he was sure she wasn't a deatheater.

"My guess would be I missed something" Dumbledore said merrily with a familiar twinkle in his eye. At that everyone laughed and James started to explain about how she showed up and asked to see him, and then got coaxed into telling them the truth before he got there.

"Oh yeah can I have my wand back please? I feel rather vulnerable without it" Hermione chuckled. Even through her joking, there was a haunted look on her face that made Dumbledore worry. _**Just how bad will things get for her to risk trying to change them? **_ He felt discontented when she looked at him, like she knew his worst….regret.

"I assume, Miss. Granger, you have some kind of plan?" he said with his eyebrow raised and a twinkle in his eye.

"Well actually it's Harry, Minerva, and my plan, but mostly Minerva's" She started to explain. This shocked everyone in the room.

"Minerva?" they all gasped except Dumbledore, even though he still looked equally shocked. It was hard to believe such a strict woman would attempt to go against such a potentially dangerous law.

"Who is Harry?" Sirius questioned.

"Harry James Potter is your godson and my very best friend" she smiled widely, and then started giggling. "Also known as the boy-who-lived and later on in life the- chosen-one" it seemed so weird to be asked who Harry was, everyone knew Harry. Then her face fell as she realized why he was given the name. Everyone, except a very curious looking Dumbledore, was confused.

"Here just read this" She felt it was time to get down to business. Albus read the letter out loud.

Dear Albus,

I am sending this to you in the well trusted hands of Miss, Granger. I know she is young but she has done more than you can imagine for both wars on you-know-who. She is the brightest witch of her age. I know it seems drastic to try and change the future, but things can't go on the way they have. The side of the light won but at a terrible price, the damage that was done is permanent, to not just every surviving wizard's life, but the wizarding world was damaged beyond compared. We compiled a book of the last year of the war with extreme accuracy. Everything said thought and described is EXACTLY how it was. Also, things are not always as they seem and I ask that you reserve judgment until the end of the book for ALL actions! Hermione has a list of all the people who will be reading with you. Once again I ask you to trust her; there are a few people on that list that won't be received very well, I'm asking you to help her protect EVERY one of them, and not question her to heavily on this. At the end of the book, everyone will take a vote to whether or not the future should be changed, Majority wins no exception. If you decide not to change the future Hermione will obliviated each of you before returning home. If you decide the future needs saving Hermione will stay and aid in the war effort. Please keep an open mind. And make sure all persons reading the book get to hear this letter.

_ Minerva

He finished reading

He took a moment to compose himself in silence. "Who will I need to fetch?"

"Well first with your permission I would like to use the room of requirement to read in we need somewhere secure and able to accommodate all 15 of us it will take us a few weeks to read this book and it's not safe to let everyone out until we are through."

"What's the room of requirement?" Albus said confused.

"Don't worry professor we can show you!" James and Sirius said in unison grinning from ear to ear.

"Ok, before we go I want to let you know some people we need to grab on the way" Hermione said laughing and the way the two marauders reacted to the room of requirement

"Auror Moody, Minerva, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Nymphadora Tonks-"

"Wait! Why do you need my baby cousin?" Sirius said slightly concerned

"You will see, I only want to explain things once, she has multiple reasons for being here" She said kindly, but followed quickly with the last name on her list to avoid any more questions.

"And of course, last but not least, Moony!" She used his nickname to try and dissipate some of the tension. Just then there was a knock at the door for the 3rd time that evening.

"Speak of the devil" Lily teased as she went to open the door. Hermione heard familiar voice greet Lily. As he stepped into the room she looked around at the two young marauders, it seemed so unreal to see them both so young and happy; she had never seen them so happy before. She barely listened as they caught Remus up to what was going on. It was hard for her to know that in here time every one of these people had been murdered.

"What about Wormy?" James said snapping her back to reality.

"What about him!" she snarled before she could get control of her emotions. They all stared at her unsure what to make of her outburst.

"Look he can't know about the book, not under any circumstance!" trying to stress the importance but trying to keep the distain out of her voice

"Why?" this time all three marauders and Lily spoke at once, while Dumbledore had already seemed to understand

"Please, understand that a lot of the things you are going to hear from the book are going to be hard to hear. Rivals will be your saving grace, friends will be your downfall" the all looked horrified at what she was saying. She took a deep breath, she wanted to tell them all at once but it wouldn't be fair not to tell them now, they just wouldn't understand.

"Wormtail, has been passing information to Voldemort for almost a year now, if he isn't stopped he will sell Lily and James to Voldemort, which will lead to both of their deaths October 31, 1981" she paused for a moment "I'm so sorry there is more to the story, and like most bad things, I would prefer not to have to tell it more than once" Lily was clinging to a tearful James sobbing silently, Remus had his head in his hands as if trying to make that information go away. Sirius was crying silently to himself at the loss of his brother and friend. Dumbledore looked solemn._** I really don't want to have to keep telling such a horrid story, but they deserve to know the truth when they have the ability cope in peace. **_

"I guess I am going to eat my words, and tell you the whole story now; it's not fair any other way" she said softly__her own eyes full of tears

"Professor Dumbledore found out that Voldemort was after you, he told you your best option was a fidelus charm, in which the only way someone would be able to find you is if-"

"The secret keeper told them" Lily finished for her. Hermione nodded her head. Tempers roared through the room.

"SETTLE DOWN" Hermione yelled at the top of her lungs

"HOW THE HELL CAN YOU TELL ME TO SETTLE DOWN!" Sirius roared in an impressive wave of furry.

"Because that's not all he did, it gets worse he not only framed you for being their secret keeper. But…also for killing 12 muggles and himself so he could fake his own death…you spent twelve years in Azkaban, before you became the first person to escape in harry and my third year, during those twelve years he camouflaged himself as the Weasleys pet rat, and their youngest son was Harry's best friend through Hogwarts… and sadly enough harry lost you again to a duel with Bellatrix Lestrange in his 5th year." Hermione was so heavy with tears she couldn't talk anymore. So instead she flung her arms around Sirius and sobbed "He misses you so..much.. We all do!" by that time everyone knew that starting the book tonight wasn't an option.

"May I assume Miss. Granger may stay here tonight?" Dumbledore asked gently

"Of course" Lily croaked

"I will have everyone you requested ready by 10, sleep well"

Depression swept over the house as everyone got ready for bed. Hermione got out her iPod and drifted away to reminders of happier times. _**Thanks harry**_ was her last thought before she fell asleep.

Ok so the next chapter will have the book in it. Also don't worry the Slytherins are coming in soon.


	6. Ch6 the room of requirement

I got more response to last chapter and that made me super happy! A major thank you to all those who added my story to alert and favorites and especially to those who reviewed! So far it seems like it will be a Sirius and Hermione Paring. However, I want to wait and get some more opinions first. If you support the HG/SB paring or have another paring in mind let me know. This post is so late because my Favorite cousin was here and we went and saw the harry potter movie again, if you have any comments or suggestions let me know

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters; they belong to J. K. Rowling

_**Bold and slanted mean thought.**_

**Bold means text of some kind **

**Most text is From Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows**

Hermione woke up just as dawn was breaking through her window. She had a decent night's sleep but being in a new environment made it impossible to go drift back into her slumber. So she laid there thinking about all that was to take place later in the day. She couldn't help but remember the devastation on the face of Remus. Or the look of fury Sirius had. She kept hearing lily's sobs and James's words. She knew that was just a small fraction of the story, if she thought before it was going to be hard to relive, she now knew that was nothing compared to the people who would have this all placed upon them in a matter of weeks. Ignorance is bliss, but if she didn't do anything this was the future. It is a burden for them to hear, but hearing may stop them from having to live it. Even if it was as simple as two or three more people surviving, Maybe Teddy could have a parent to grow up with, Sirius could stay out of Azkaban, or maybe George won't have to face life without his twin. She knew even with all the information she had, people would still die, it would be unrealistic and foolhardy to think otherwise._** But even if I can improve one life it's worth it**_. Was her last thought before she sat up.

Checking the time she realized she had been deep in thought for almost three hours. It was eight which meant she had only two hours before they all had to be in the R.O.R. Today she wore black dress pants, with her dark blue button up sweater. She really couldn't see wearing dress shoes so she selected a pair of black walking shoes. She barely put on any makeup and braided her hair into one neat looking braid. With one glance at the mirror she quietly went downstairs hoping she wasn't the first one awake. When she opened the door the delicious smell of cooking food met her nose. As she got towards the bottom of the stairs she saw lily cooking a large breakfast.

"Good morning" lily smiled at her genuinely.

"Can I help you with anything" Hermione offered, not only to be polite but to keep busy.

"Sure if you want to finish the toast I will get the rest of this on the table, Moony and Padfoot stayed here last night and between the three of them they eat enough for twenty people" Lilly chuckled fondly before exiting the dining room to start loading food onto the table. Just as the last few pieces of toast popped up (Lilly being muggleborn kept some muggle appliances) all three marauders came bounding down the stairs looking half dead.

"Morning" they all mumbled before collapsing down at the table. After the first few bites they seemed to wake, and started eating like the food would run away if they didn't get to it fast enough. The whole affair had been rather quiet. Until all marauders seemed to get a sudden burst of energy, started play fighting and picking on one another mercilessly. This went on for about thirty minutes before Lilly told them it was time to head to Hogwarts.

"Hey Hermione can I have a quick word" Sirius asked, he seemed to have gone from joking to sad in a matter of seconds

"Um…sure" she asked uncertainly, not sure what he could want.

"Thanks we will just meet you guys there; it will only take a second" he waved them off and waited until they were all gone before he turned to Hermione.

"I just wanted to apologize for yelling at you last night, I know it isn't an excuse but, I'm not sure how to handle everything that's being thrown at me right now, James and lily are my family and Peter was one of my best friends too, and I'm sure twelve years in Azkaban won't be a positive experience.." he seemed to notice he was babbling because he blushed "Regardless I had no right to speak that way to you, I just hope that you can maybe forgive me for making such a bad first impression" She wasn't sure what to do, she had never seen Sirius look so broken or unsure of himself. She thought for a moment how to best reassure him before she grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently

"I understand and there is nothing to forgive, but, things are going to get worse, there are reasons we need to change the future. There are more people on the list coming then what I said yesterday, I just want to properly warn the others first and there are a few you consider enemies. But it is all for a reason. I just ask that you try your hardest to put aside any differences you may have knowing that there is more than meets the eye." She gave his hand another comforting squeeze" if at any time you need a break let us know, it's going to be hard on everyone and we will all be here for each other" he gave her a weak smile "I guess we better go" they apperated to the school entrance and walked in together.

As they walked through the school Hermione was overcome by emotion. Hogwarts looked just how she remembered it before the war. It looked so perfect; it was painful to imagine this beautiful castle in ruins after the final battle. By the time they had hey got to the R. O. R, she had silent tears running down her face. She stopped for a moment in front of the entrance to pull herself together. What's wrong? A very concerned Sirius asked her softly.

"Homesick" she lied with a sniff. He wiped a tear from her eye. He wasn't sure what to say so he just imitated her earlier action and squeezed her hand. Finally having regained control of her emotions she nodded at him and entered the room.

Everyone was already there. Inside there was cozy looking room done in white, brown, and blacks it had a very comforting feel to it. The only thing in the room was a round table with a bench the shape of a donut around it. Everyone was already sitting down; it hurt for her to see them all there. Hermione directed sirus to sit with her between lily and Remus.

"I have updated them as far as I know" Dumbledore spoke giving her the floor.

"Ok, so as you probably know I'm Hermione granger I know all of you already so…. Anyway I was wondering if I could redo the seating, because i think its best we put certain people together and make sure others stay separated. Ok so I want everyone siting around the table in this order" she said gesturing for everyone to stand up "Ok, James, Lily, Me, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Alice, Frank, Minerva, Professor Dumbledore, and Moody" once everyone was all settled in she continued. "Ok so there will be more people coming, the reason I brought you all together first is to give you a fair warning I have four more people to bring in and none of you are likely to be happy with it." Everyone looked nervous at that with the exception of Moody and Dumbledore. "I am planning on bringing the first two first because I COMPLETELY trust those two and the last two last because we are going to need to keep an eye on them."

"Ok so who are the first two?" Remus said curiosity was getting the best of him.

"Regulus Black and Severus Snape" she said in a confident voice. The uproar in the room was unparalleled nobody was happy. She decided to let them get it out of their system. When they finally calmed down after ten minutes she spoke again

"I hope you got that out of your system now because I refuse to let you disrespect them, YES I know what they are, but that don't change my opinion. They have good hearts inside them and they both do Very important things in the future to help on the fight against Voldemort" Almost everyone flinched at the use of Voldemort's name. "OH COME ON PEOPLE ITS JUST A NAME, YOUDON'T EVEN HAVE A REASON TO BE SCARED OF IT YET!" most people were now stunned at her use of the word yet, but she looked scary after her last outburst and nobody dared to ask.

"What do you mean yet?" Moody grumbled

You will find out soon enough, first let's go fetch our next two friends so we can get everyone here and get started" she said calming down.

"I think it's best if I go alone to fetch Severus and Regulus" She said standing up. She knew if she told Severus that lily needed him he would come with her and she knew he could use his Slytherin tactics to get Regulus to follow.

She thought it would be a good idea to stop at spinners end first and hope and pray Snape was alone. He was, but he was just as hostel as she remembered. It didn't take long to convince him to come help Lily, he knew there were very few ways she could have the information she did, and he would do anything for Lily. He didn't understand why this girl was so nice to him; she seemed to know what he was, but she treated him with respect. _**Maybe I become a better person in the future, though I don't see how I could even make up for my choices.**_

"Ok now we need to find Regulus Black, Do you know where we could find him?" she said breaking him out of his musings.

"Yeah Grimmauld Place, but I wouldn't advise that you go there. It's not very stranger friendly, I could go get him if you like" he offered. He didn't understand why he was being so nice to her.

"Yeah how about I meet you both at the entrance to Hogwarts"

"Ok, it shouldn't take me to long"

Fifteen minutes later the three of them were entering Hogwarts

"Ok so the people in this room won't be very happy to see you and you won't be very happy to see them, but please understand that even though you might not like each other, I think you may have more in common then you thought if you can just please….PLEASE try to get along. Maybe even be friends, some of this is going to be hard to hear and we are all going to have to stick together." She said hoping they would take her words to hear. They both looked pale _**how would you feel if you were being led into a room of enemies on the word of a girl you just met **_she thought to herself. She looked at both boys an gave a warming smile

"It will be ok" she said before grabbing their hands and leading them through the door. As they walked in Hermione was pleased to see no one spoke except for a few quiet greetings

"Ok, Severus please sit with me and Lily, and Regulus if you will please take the seat between Sirius and Remus" They both sat down nervously.

"Ok, so the final two we need to get are, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoys, these two I don't trust for a second, however, it is in their best interest to help us, so I will do my best to be decent and ask that you all do the same" even the Slytherins didn't really like the Malfoys but at least they weren't going to be the only Slytherins there.

"Um Severus will you be able to fetch them?" she asked kindly, she knew that this was going to be just as hard for him as everyone else. He gave her a courteous nod and left to fetch them.

"Why did you sit that idiot deatheater next to me" Sirius whispered fiercely pointing the direction of Regulus, who had his head down staring at the table

"That's your brother!" she whispered back

"That's no brother of mine" Sirius whispered rudely

"Sirius Black, if I know you at all you will regret saying that when you know the truth, so I suggest you shut up and apologize to your little brother who is obviously very hurt by your actions, You both are going to need each other before this is over with" she finished noticing Sirius looked properly reprimanded. He hung his head a minute and the did something that shocked everyone at the table including himself

"Your right" not only did Sirius just admit he was wrong but he proceeded to turn to his brother and apologize "She is right, I'm sorry I don't know the whole story, i just can't stand the idea my little brother wound up making such a bad choice, and it hurts even worse that I wasn't there to stop it like I should have been" Regulus looked up at his big brother and saw the same kindness on his face that he remembered from his childhood.

"It's ok, it's not your fault" he said quietly and returned his brothers half hug. After a few minutes of awkward silence Severus and the Malfoys came into the room.

"Are you sure this isn't a trap" Narcissa asked frantically

"No, this isn't a trap." Hermione said in a detached tone.

"Please take a seat in between Moody and Professor Dumbledore" they did so with caution knowing Moody's reputation. Moody on the other hand looked like Christmas come early.

"Professor now that we are all together please read that note from future Minerva" Hermione asked nicely. When he was done everyone was quite for a minute.

"OK so I want to give you enough information that you will be able to keep up, but first I want to talk to Remus, James, and Sirius, privately for a moment" a door appeared behind them. Once inside Hermione presented them with an option.

"They are going to find out about your furry little problem soon. So you have the choice to tell them now or wait for them to find out. I'm not sure if you guys being animagus is in the book but you have the same option, I would suggest you tell them. It would make recapping the stories easier if I didn't have to worry about saying the wrong thing" Remus hung his head at her words " Its ok, when the Dumbledore in my time found out he wasn't mad, just highly amused" The other two marauders didn't know how she did it, but she always knew what to say.

"Ok I vote we tell them all of it" James said, Remus just nodded when they got back out to the others they promptly told them the mystery of the marauders. Reactions varied, McGonagall was in between shock and admiration, Dumbledore had the familiar twinkle back in his eye and moody was contemplating how useful if they could teach some more order members. Finally after all the questions were settled down spoke

"It has been a really long day for us all, why don't we read the first chapter of the book, that will give you a feel of what's going on before I tell you all about the years leading up to this." Everyone nodded who wants to go first?

"I will." Remus said before anyone else. Picking up the book he grimaced at the title

"This won't be fun"

"Why?" Tonks asked

"It's called **Dark Lord Ascending"**

"Your right" Frank said looking nervous.

"best just to get on with it" said a grave looking lily

**The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane. For a second they stood quite still, wands directed at each other's chests; then, recognizing each other, they stowed their wands beneath their cloaks and started walking briskly in the same direction. **

**"News?" asked the taller of the two. **

**"The best," replied Severus Snape. **

"Just great" said Severus realizing this would more than likely be a deatheater meeting

"It's ok, just remember things aren't always what they seem" Hermione said patting his back. She knew he wouldn't want Lily hearing this. Nobody had the guts to make comment thinking about Hermione's warning.

**The lane was bordered on the left by wild, low-growing brambles, on the right by a high, neatly manicured hedge. The men's long cloaks flapped around their ankles as they marched. "Thought I might be late," said Yaxley, **

Severus scrunched up his nose at that, He never liked Yaxley.

**his blunt features sliding in and out of sight as the branches of overhanging trees broke the moonlight. "It was a little trickier than I expected. But I hope he will be satisfied. You sound confident that your reception will be good?" Snape nodded, but did not elaborate. They turned right, into a wide driveway that led off the lane. The high hedge curved into them, running off into the distance beyond the pair of imposing wrought-iron gates barring the men's way. Neither of them broke step: In silence both raised their left arms in a kind of salute and passed straight through, as though the dark metal was smoke. **

"Sounds like you need a dark mark to go through" Regulus thought out loud. Lily tensed up at that.

**The yew hedges muffled the sound of the men's footsteps. There was a rustle somewhere to their right: Yaxley drew his wand again pointing it over his companion's head, but the source of the noise proved to be nothing more than a pure-white peacock, strutting majestically along the top of the hedge. **

Severus and Lucius exchanged a look.

"**He always did himself well, Lucius. Peacocks **…" **Yaxley thrust his wand back under his cloak with a snort. **

Everyone was surprised to see the look Hermione was giving the Malfoys. She seemed so nice to everyone else.

**A handsome manor house grew out of the darkness at the end of the straight drive, lights glinting in the diamond paned downstairs windows. Somewhere in the dark garden beyond the hedge a fountain was playing. Gravel crackled beneath their feet as Snape and Yaxley sped toward the front door, which swung inward at their approach, though nobody had visibly opened it. The hallway was large, dimly lit, and sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet covering most of the stone floor. The eyes of the pale-faced portraits on the wall followed Snape and Yaxley as they strode past. The two men halted at a heavy wooden door leading into the next room, hesitated for the space of a heartbeat, then Snape turned the bronze handle.**

Hermione saw Severus looking shameful so she gave his back another pat "I would just like to remind everyone things ARE NOT what they seem when Severus is involved" She gave everyone a look that told them no comments were necessary

**The drawing room was full of silent people, sitting at a long and ornate table. The room's usual furniture had been pushed carelessly up against the walls. Illumination came from a roaring fire beneath a handsome marble mantelpiece surmounted by a gilded mirror. Snape and Yaxley lingered for a moment on the threshold. As their eyes grew accustomed to the lack of light, they were drawn upward to the strangest feature of the scene: an apparently unconscious human figure hanging upside down over the table, revolving slowly as if suspended by an invisible rope,**

"That's horrible!" Lily exclaimed "How can you be part of something like this!"

"I'm sorry" he mumbled not able to look at anyone. Hermione gave his arm another squeeze "You won't understand until the end of the book" Hermione said calmly to lily

**And reflected in the mirror and in the bare, polished surface of the table below. None of the people seated underneath this singular sight were looking at it except for a pale young man sitting almost directly below it. He seemed unable to prevent himself from glancing upward every minute or so.**

"Sounds like a Malfoy" Lucius mutter throwing a guilty glance at his wife

"Draco Malfoy, he was in my year" Hermione said quietly before gesturing for Remus to keep reading

"**Yaxley. Snape," said a high, clear voice from the head of the table. "You are very nearly late." **

Everyone shivered guessing who the voice belonged to

**The speaker was seated directly in front of the fireplace, so that it was difficult, at first, for the new arrivals to make out more than his silhouette. As they drew nearer, however, his face shone through the gloom, hairless, snakelike, with slits for nostrils and gleaming red eyes whose pupils were vertical. He was so pale that he seemed to emit a pearly glow. **

Everyone paled. "You mean he got worse?" Regulus exclaimed close to hysteria. Sirius calmed down Regulus while Severus started shivering next to her; surprisingly lily was the one to tell him everything was going to be ok. Even the Malfoys looked unhappy. Hermione was wondering how they were going to make it through the book.

"**Severus, here," said Voldemort, indicating the seat on his immediate right.**

All heads snapped towards Severus. There was an outburst of disbelief and shock. Meanwhile, Severus was paling once more, he didn't want to be a deatheater, but he found no way out of it, he didn't want to even think what he had to do to get that high up in rank. He only joined because he was lonely. Both Hermione and Lily noticed the look on his face so they each grabbed his arm and gave them a gentle squeeze "Remember nothing is what it seemed" Hermione knew she would be repeating that a lot

"**Yaxley – beside Dolohov." **

Moody started taking down names.

**The two men took their allotted places. Most of the eyes around the table followed Snape, and it was to him that Voldemort spoke first. **

"**So?" **

"**My Lord, the Order of the Phoenix intends to move Harry Potter from his current place of safety on Saturday next, at nightfall." **

"My son, your handing him my son!" Lily was so upset she couldn't think clearly. Everyone was glaring at Severus.

"That's your good news!" Sirus yelled

"Even if you hate me don't take it out on my son" James spoke fiercely

"Calm down!" she gestured for the angry werewolf to continue reading

**The interest around the table sharpened palpably: Some stiffened, others fidgeted, all gazing at Snape and Voldemort. **

"**Saturday … at nightfall," repeated Voldemort. His red eyes fastened upon Snape's black ones with such intensity that some of the watchers looked away, apparently fearful that they themselves would be scorched by the ferocity of the gaze. Snape, however, looked calmly back into Voldemort's face and, after a moment or two, Voldemort's lipless mouth curved into something like a smile. **

"**Good. Very good. And this information comes –" **

" – **from the source we discussed," said Snape. **

"They continued to give him cold stares but he didn't bother looking up to see him. Knowing Lily was upset at him made everything worse.

"**My Lord." **

**Yaxley had leaned forward to look down the long table at Voldemort and Snape. All faces turned to him. **

"**My Lord, I have heard differently." **

**Yaxley waited, but Voldemort did not speak, so he went on, "Dawlish, the Auror, let slip that Potter will not be moved until the thirtieth, the night before the boy turns seventeen."**

Everyone frowned. "which one is real?" Alice said

"Keep reading" She didn't want to spoil the story

**Snape was smiling. **

"**My source told me that there are plans to lay a false trail; this must be it. No doubt a Confundus Charm has been placed upon Dawlish. It would not be the first time; he is known to be susceptible." **

Moody growled at that making James, Sirius, Remus, and Frank all snort

"Brilliant that one" Frank said

**I assure you, my Lord, Dawlish seemed quite certain," said Yaxley. **

"**If he has been Confunded, naturally he is certain," said Snape. "I assure you, Yaxley, the Auror Office will play no further part in the protection of Harry Potter. The Order believes that we have infiltrated the Ministry." **

Everyone was shocked at that, "let us hope it's not true" Dumbledore spoke calmly

"**The Order's got one thing right, then, eh?"**

"It's not, completely true yet" Hermione cut in, but the word yet made everyone nervous

**said a squat man sitting a short distance from Yaxley; he gave a wheezy giggle that was echoed here and there along the table. **

**Voldemort did not laugh. His gaze had wandered upward to the body revolving slowly overhead, and he seemed to be lost in thought. **

"**My Lord," Yaxley went on, "Dawlish believes an entire party of Aurors will be used to transfer the boy –" **

**Voldemort held up a large white hand, and Yaxley subsided at once, watching resentfully as Voldemort turned back to Snape. **

"**Where are they going to hide the boy next?" **

"**At the home of one of the Order," said Snape. "The place, according to the source, has been given every protection that the Order and Ministry together could provide. I think that there is little chance of taking him once he is there, my Lord, unless, of course, the Ministry has fallen before next Saturday, which might give us the opportunity to discover and undo enough of the enchantments to break through the res****t."**

Lily had her hand over her tummy. She was worried for her son.

"Lily, are you…is Harry already on the way?" Alice said excitedly. Lily beamed. Everyone, even the Malfoys, offered her a congratulations.

**Well, Yaxley?" Voldemort called down the table, the firelight glinting strangely in his red eyes. "Will the Ministry have fallen by next Saturday?" **

**Once again, all heads turned. Yaxley squared his shoulders. **

"**My Lord, I have good news on that score. I have – with difficulty, and after great effort – succeeded in placing an Imperius Curse upon Pius Thicknesse." **

**Many of those sitting around Yaxley looked impressed; his neighbor, Dolohov, a man with a long, twisted face, clapped him on the back. **

"**It is a start," said Voldemort. "But Thicknesse is only one man. Scrimgeour must be surrounded by our people before I act. One failed attempt on the Minister's life will set me back a long way." **

"**Who was the minister before that?" Dumbledore asked Hermione**

"**Cornelius Fudge" Hermione said with obvious dislike**

"**What was wrong with him?" Sirius asked **

"**I will tell you before the next chapter"**

"**Yes – my Lord, that is true – but you know, as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Thicknesse has regular contact not only with the Minister himself, but also with the Heads of all the other Ministry departments. It will, I think, be easy now that we have such a high-ranking official under our control, to subjugate the others, and then they can all work together to bring Scrimgeour down."**

"**That would work" Said a very concerned Alice**

"**As long as our friend Thicknesse is not discovered before he has converted the rest," said Voldemort. "At any rate, it remains unlikely that the Ministry will be mine before next Saturday. If we cannot touch the boy at his destination, then it must be done while he travels." **

"**We are at an advantage there, my Lord," said Yaxley, who seemed determined to receive some portion of approval. **

"why does he even want my son?" James asked angrily

"I will tell you before the next chapter" Hermione said calmly

"**We now have several people planted within the Department of Magical Transport. If Potter Apparates or uses the Floo Network, we shall know immediately." **

"this isn't good, it keeps getting worse" Lily says

"**He will not do either," said Snape. **

**The Order is eschewing any form of transport that is controlled or regulated by the Ministry; they mistrust everything to do with the place." **

"**All the better," said Voldemort. "He will have to move in the open. Easier to take, by far." **

"Is he ok?" Lily asked frantically

"HE is" Hermione said quietly

**Again, Voldemort looked up at the slowly revolving body as he went on, "I shall attend to the boy in person. There have been too many mistakes where Harry Potter is concerned. **

Everyone looked at Hermione "Later" she said without having to be asked

**Some of them have been my own. That Potter lives is due more to my errors than to his triumphs The company around the table watched Voldemort apprehensively, each of them, by his or her expression, afraid that they might be blamed for Harry Potter's continued existence. Voldemort, however, seemed to be speaking more to himself than to any of them, still addressing the unconscious body above him. **

"**I have been careless, and so have been thwarted by luck and chance, those wreckers of all but the best-laid plans. But I know better now. I understand those things that I did not understand before. I must be the one to kill Harry Potter, and I shall be." **

The questions grew, but they knew better then to ask

**At these words, seemingly in response to them, a sudden wail sounded, a terrible, drawn-out cry of misery and pain. Many of those at the table looked downward, startled, for the sound had seemed to issue from below their feet. **

"**Wormtail," **

Everyone looked towards the marauders, "yes its him" James said tiredly

**said Voldemort, with no change in his quiet, thoughtful tone, and without removing his eyes from the revolving body above, "have I not spoken to you about keeping our prisoner quiet?" **

"**Yes, m-my Lord," gasped a small man halfway down the table, who had been sitting so low in his chair that it appeared, at first glance, to be unoccupied. Now he scrambled from his seat and scurried from the room, leaving nothing behind him but a curious gleam of silver. **

Remus shivered as he read the last sentence

"**As I was saying," continued Voldemort, looking again at the tense faces of his followers, "I understand better now. I shall need, for instance, to borrow a wand from one of you before I go to kill Potter." **

**The faces around him displayed nothing but shock; he might have announced that he wanted to borrow one of their arms. **

"That wouldn't be a good sign" Lucius said amused. Everyone glared

"**No volunteers?" said Voldemort. "Let's see … Lucius, I see no reason for you to have a wand anymore." **

The smug look fell off his face and he turned pale

**Lucius Malfoy looked up. His skin appeared yellowish and waxy in the firelight, and his eyes were sunken and shadowed. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse.**

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Later" It was her answer to most questions

"Don't you dare give me that you stupid little girl!" That was a mistake before he could say another word both Sirius, Regulus, and Severus had thrown their own curses at him**. **Sirius looked at Severus oddly; "She is nice to me" Sirius just shrugged but it made him think a few things over in his mind.

"**My Lord?" **

"**Your wand, Lucius. I require your wand." **

"**I …" **

**Malfoy glanced sideways at his wife. She was staring straight ahead, quite as pale as he was, her long blonde hair hanging down her back, but beneath the table her slim fingers closed briefly on his wrist. At her touch, Malfoy put his hand into his robes, withdrew a wand, and passed it along to Voldemort, who held it up in front of his red eyes, examining it closely.**

Everyone was staring at Narcissa who was stareing at the table with tears in her eyes

**What is it?" **

"**Elm, my Lord," whispered Malfoy. **

"**And the core?" **

"**Dragon – dragon heartstring." **

"**Good," said Voldemort. He drew out his wand and compared the lengths. Lucius Malfoy made an involuntary movement; for a fraction of a second, it seemed he expected to receive Voldemort's wand in exchange for his own. **

"not good!" said several people at once

**The gesture was not missed by Voldemort, whose eyes widened maliciously. **

"**Give you my wand, Lucius? My wand?" **

**Some of the throng sniggered. **

"**I have given you your liberty, Lucius, is that not enough for you? But I have noticed that you and your family seem less than happy of late … What is it about my presence in your home that displaces you, Lucius?" **

"That would be enough to drive anyone on edge" Regulus whispers to Sirius

"**Nothing – nothing, my Lord!" **

"**Such lies Lucius … " **

**The soft voice seemed to hiss on even after the cruel mouth had stopped moving. One or two of the wizards barely repressed a shudder as the hissing grew louder; something heavy could be heard sliding across the floor beneath the table. **

**The huge snake emerged to climb slowly up Voldemort's chair. **

Everyone shivered at that

**It rose, seemingly endlessly, and came to rest across Voldemort's shoulders: its neck the thickness of a man's thigh; its eyes, with their vertical slits for pupils, unblinking. Voldemort stroked the creature absently with long thin fingers, still looking at Lucius Malfoy. **

"**Why do the Malfoys look so unhappy with their lot? Is my return, my rise to power, not the very thing they professed to desire for so many years?"**

"So he went away at one point?" Tonks asked hopeful. Hermione nodded

"why does she get answers?" Sirius teased.

"Cuz I like her better" Hermione teased back

**Of course, my Lord," said Lucius Malfoy. His hand shook as he wiped sweat from his upper lip. "We did desire it – we do." **

**To Malfoy's left, his wife made an odd, stiff nod, her eyes averted from Voldemort and the snake. To his right, his son, Draco, who had been gazing up at the inert body overhead, glanced quickly at Voldemort and away again, terrified to make eye contact.**

Narcissa teared up at the reminder her son would be a deatheater.

"**My Lord," said a dark woman halfway down the table, her voice constricted with emotion, "it is an honor to have you here, in our family's house. There can be no higher pleasure." **

Hermione couldn't hide her disgust.

**She sat beside her sister, as unlike her in looks, with her dark hair and heavily lidded eyes, as she was in bearing and demeanor; where Narcissa sat rigid and impassive, Bellatrix leaned toward Voldemort, for mere words could not demonstrate her longing for closeness. **

Everyone gave the book looks of hatred "they don't know the half of it yet" Hermione muttered to herself causing the boys beside her to look at her. They decided they didn't want to know

"**No higher pleasure," repeated Voldemort, his head tilted a little to one side as he considered Bellatrix. "That means a great deal, Bellatrix, from you." **

**Her face flooded with color; her eyes welled with tears of delight. **

Everyone looked disgusted

**My Lord knows I speak nothing but the truth!" **

"**No higher pleasure … even compared with the happy event that, I hear, has taken place in your family this week?" **

**She stared at him, her lips parted, evidently confused. **

"**I don't know what you mean, my Lord." **

Remus paused a second before reading the next sentence

"**I'm talking about your niece, Bellatrix. And yours, Lucius and Narcissa. She has just married the werewolf, Remus Lupin. **

There was silence and then

"YES" Everyone turned towards Tonks, and she blushed

"what I mean you have to admit I did pretty good" she said winking at Remus causing him to blush and everyone else to burst out laughing

"Welcome to the Family Moony!" Sirius said excitedly. Remus in shock and didn't know what to say so he just kept reading

**You must be so proud." **

**There was an eruption of jeering laughter from around the table. Many leaned forward to exchange gleeful looks; a few thumped the table with their fists. The giant snake, disliking the disturbance, opened its mouth wide and hissed angrily, but the Death Eaters did not hear it, so jubilant were they at Bellatrix and the Malfoys' humiliation. Bellatrix's face, so recently flushed with happiness, had turned an ugly, blotchy red. **

"**She is no niece of ours, my Lord," she cried over the outpouring of mirth. "We – Narcissa and I – have never set eyes on our sister since she married the Mudblood. This brat has nothing to do with either of us, nor any beast she marries."**

Everyone glared at the book as if to set it on fire

"**What say you, Draco?" asked Voldemort, and though his voice was quiet, it carried clearly through the catcalls and jeers. "Will you babysit the cubs?" **

"no, no, I won't let you ruin your life by marrying me, I don't want to have children, I cant imagine inflicting them with this curse." He was panicing

"Oh shut up! I have already lived through one time of this and life is too short, you guys are wonderful together and if you start to rethink it I will personally bring harry to kick your butt." By the time Hermione was done with her rant everyone was silent

**The hilarity mounted; Draco Malfoy looked in terror at his father, who was staring down into his own lap, then caught his mother's eye. She shook her head almost imperceptibly, then resumed her own deadpan stare at the opposite wall. **

"**Enough," said Voldemort, stroking the angry snake. "Enough." **

**And the laughter died at once. **

"**Many of our oldest family trees become a little diseased over time," he said as Bellatrix gazed at him, breathless and imploring, "You must prune yours, must you not, to keep it healthy? Cut away those parts that threaten the health of the rest." **

"Don't touch her" Remus said angrily, he already felt protective of her

**Yes, my Lord," whispered Bellatrix, and her eyes swam with tears of gratitude again. "At the first chance!" **

"**You shall have it," said Voldemort. "And in your family, so in the world … we shall cut away the canker that infects us until only those of the true blood remain …" **

"Hypocrite!" Hermione yelled when everyone looked at her she just rolled her eyes

"Voldemort is a half- blood" everyone was shocked, especially the Malfoys, and a little angry.

**Voldemort raised Lucius Malfoy's wand, pointed it directly at the slowly revolving figure suspended over the table, and gave it a tiny flick. The figure came to life with a groan and began to struggle against invisible bonds. **

"**Do you recognize our guest, Severus?" asked Voldemort. **

**Snape raised his eyes to the upside down face. All of the Death Eaters were looking up at the captive now, as though they had been given permission to show curiosity. As she revolved to face the firelight, the woman said in a cracked and terrified voice, "Severus! Help me!" **

"There was nothing you could do" Hermione told a distraught Severus

**Ah, yes," said Snape as the prisoner turned slowly away again. **

"**And you, Draco?" asked Voldemort, stroking the snake's snout with his wand-free hand. Draco shook his head jerkily. Now that the woman had woken, he seemed unable to look at her anymore. **

"**But you would not have taken her classes," said Voldemort. "For those of you who do not know, we are joined here tonight by Charity Burbage who****, **

Everyone gasped, and the girls started tearing up, especially Hermione. Sirius saw and put an arm around her.

**until recently, taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." **

**There were small noises of comprehension around the table. A broad, hunched woman with pointed teeth cackled. **

"**Yes … Professor Burbage taught the children of witches and wizards all about Muggles … how they are not so different from us …" **

**One of the Death Eaters spat on the floor. Charity Burbage revolved to face Snape again. "Severus … please … please …" **

Severus buried his face in his hand, lily wanted to comfort him, but she was still mad at him

"**Silence," said Voldemort, with another twitch of Malfoy's wand, and Charity fell silent as if gagged. "Not content with corrupting and polluting the minds of Wizarding children, last week Professor Burbage wrote an impassioned defense of Mudbloods in the Daily Prophet. Wizards, she says, must accept these thieves of their knowledge and magic. The dwindling of the purebloods is, says Professor Burbage, a most desirable circumstance … She would have us all mate with Muggles … or, no doubt, werewolves … " **

At that Tonks grabbed Remus's free hand as if to tell him she didn't mind

**Nobody laughed this time. There was no mistaking the anger and contempt in Voldemort's voice. For the third time, Charity Burbage revolved to face Snape. Tears were pouring from her eyes into her hair. Snape looked back at her, quite impassive, as she turned slowly away from him again. **

"How can you be so uncaring?" Lily cried as Severus just continued to sit there with his face in his hands.

**Avada Kedavra." **

**The flash of green light illuminated every corner of the room. Charity fell, with a resounding crash, onto the table below, which trembled and creaked. Several of the Death Eaters leapt back in their chairs. Draco fell out of his onto the floor.**

"**Dinner, Nagini," said Voldemort softly, and the great snake swayed and slithered from his shoulders onto the polished wood. **

"I think that's enough for one day" Hermione said looking slightly nauseous. At that a bedroom for everyone appeared.

"We can start the next chapter in the morning after I fill you all in" She said as everyone walked into their rooms needing a chance to think


	7. Ch7 Year 1 & 2

Sooooo sorry it took me so long to update! I will try to be quicker next time thank you to all the story alerts, favorites and reviews! So everyone requested a Sirius/Hermione paring and so I am going to put those two together. Any comments or questions are welcome.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters; they belong to J. K. Rowling.

Hermione woke up from a restless sleep, now not only was she in a place that seemed unfamiliar, but she kept dreaming of the deaths that took place in the war. It was still early, only seven thirty. She got up and got ready for the day wearing a Jeans and a simple Red turtleneck sweater. Walking out she realized that the Malfoys were already up. She really didn't want to converse with them, they would want answers that she wasn't going to give up until everyone was up. She muttered Greeting to them as she poured herself some of the coffee laid out on the table. They looked like they were about to ask start harassing her for answers before she came up with an idea. She practically ran back to her room and dug out the cell phone Harry had given her before she left.

**Harry things are going ok here, the Malfoys are a bit unpleasant, but I had an idea. Why not send Draco back? Even if it is only for a couple days, he may be the only one that deal with his parents. **

She put the phone in the pocket of her jeans, and went back into the common room. She decided that if she was the one to start the conversation, it would give her the upper hand to direct it in a slightly more positive manner.

"Draco might be coming to read with us for a few days" She said politely. They both looked up in shock.

"My son?" Narcissa asked wide eyed.

"Yes, I won't know for a while, but it's a possibility, he was in my year of Hogwarts" she said glad it seemed to have directed them away from the story as a whole.

"What is he like?" She persisted. Hermione thought for a minute. Truth be told, she didn't know him well, and the little she did know wasn't good, but he did change a lot after the war. He was a lot less arrogant; in fact, he was even pleasant to be around. Not that she spent much time with him, just enough to note the change.

"I don't know him on a very personal level; however, he is more pleasant to be around since the war ended." Just then Sirius entered the room. This seemed to make her feel more at ease about the Malfoys being in the room. She decided it would be fun to tease him

"Morning Snuffles" She greeted happily, seeing James enter the room. James laughed and Sirius stared at her like she was mental.

"Why did you call me that" He asked slightly annoyed. He wasn't a morning person, and James was going to tease him relentlessly over a nickname like that.

"It was always are code name for you, that way no one knew who we were asking or talking about, and don't give me that look, that's how you signed your letters and everything. Most people just assumed Harry had a Dog." She smiled at him again "I was just teasing you" Her smile seemed to make him forget why he was so irritated a minute ago.

"Well I guess you can call me that if you want" he winked making her blush.

"As soon as everyone else gets up I will fill you in on what happened the last six years leading up to the book, it was quite eventful" She said wondering about everyone's reactions. Just then she heard a text message come in.

**That is a great idea; I will go talk to him and Minerva today. How are things there? Have you started reading the book yet? **

She smiled at his curiosity. And took another drink of coffee pondering how to describe to him what it was like.

"What's that?" Lily asked curiously. By now everyone was up and sitting in the same spots as yesterday.

"Oh it's a future device called a cell phone" She paused for a minute to figure out how to explain. "you slide the screen up, and then type your message in the box and send it to someone and the message will appear on their phone in a matter of seconds, you can also send pictures and make phone calls, harry charmed it to run on magic instead of electricity so we can keep in contact"

"What did he say?" James asked excitedly

"That he was going to see Minerva today sending another person to read with us, and he wants to know how it is going and if we started the book yet." She said smiling at his enthusiasm.

"Tell him we love him please!" Lily, James, Remus and Sirius chorused. Hermione had another idea

"Ok get together I want to take a picture to send to him" she said motioning them together once she was satisfied she got the perfect picture, she typed a short message and sent it

**We read the first chapter yesterday, but today I tell them about the years leading up to the book. Wish me luck! Oh and the Marauders and your Mom send their love, very enthusiastically!**

"Ok so I believe I promised to tell you about the years leading up to this book, it is quite a bit of information so I am going to vaguely describe it all, I am warning you now, the truth isn't going to be easy to hear." She pauses for a minute and looked around to all the concerned faces "Halloween 1981 voldemort shows up in Godric's Hallow on Peter Pettigrew, their secret keeper's, information. He murdered James Potter first and then turned his wand on Lily Potter, she refused to hand him Harry so he killed her as well-"At that several people started to ask questions but she held her hand up. "He then preceded to aim the killing curse at Harry however, the curse rebounded, Voldemort disappeared-" this time she was interrupted by shouts of triumph "I wouldn't get to excited yet he wasn't gone for good" their face fell. "Harry was taken to his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, to my knowledge he was treated horribly" Lily looked furious

"Who took him there?" she demanded

"Professor Dumbledore, but he had a reason" She didn't look happy but accepted Hermione's answer.

"So anyway he goes to Hogwarts and he and Ron make friends on the train. We are all there sorted into Gryffindor. Although, I don't become their friend until they save me from a troll that Halloween- "

"Wait…A TROLL!" Lily yelled in shock. Hermione nodded

"Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club." Moody was looking interested

"Oh and Dumbledore is still headmaster, McGonagall is still transfiguration teacher, But Severus is the Potions Master/ Potions Professor/ Head of Slytherin house." Everyone looked shocked, especially Severus.

"Was I a good teacher?" Severus asked still shocked. Hermione didn't know if being honest was the best option.

"Honestly… you were rather cruel to everyone except the Slytherins, and unfair." Severus looked melancholy.

"But you were tough, which was a good thing because it made everyone try their hardest" Severus still didn't look happy with himself.

"So anyway that year Professor Dumbledore had the sorcerer's stone hidden in the castle" Everyone looked confused " It is a stone that makes the elixir of life, that will either cause the drinker to be immortal, or turn any substance into pure gold." Everyone looked shocked except the professors and Moody "So Voldemort was after it, and Harry, Ron, and I went after him and Harry stopped him."

"A first year stopped him?" Regulus asked over everyone's shock

"Yes but he didn't have a body, he was living in the back of our defense against the dark arts teachers head" Everyone looked horrified.

"Our second year Lucius Malfoy-" She looked pointedly at him " Slipped Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, a diary possessed by Voldemort, which then caused her to open the Chamber of Secrets" Narcissa looked at Lucius Horrified

"Lucius how could you, to a little girl!" She yelled at him angrily starting a lecture. In the meantime Sirius looked at Hermione.

"You had some pretty eventful schooldays" He said to her, still looking shocked.

"You haven't heard anything yet, we aren't even done with second year" She says with a smirk. And turns back to the arguing couple

"So why don't you finish yelling at him later?" Hermione suggested with a little more respect for Narcissa.

"Ok so anyway that year we meet Dobby" Lucius pales again "the Malfoys House elf, or one of them anyway, that tries to warn harry not to go back to school, but he couldn't say much."

"A house elf went against their master like that?" Sirius speaks up flabbergasted.

"Dobby was special" Hermione said with a said smile, only Sirius saw the sadness in her eyes.

"So a few students, including me, get petrified and we find out Harry is a parstletounge"

.

"Why is my son a-"James began but Hermione interrupted him "You will find out but it does NOT change who he is" James shut up immediately, Lily, Alice, Tonks Hermione, and Minerva were glaring at him.

"So anyway then Voldemort takes Ginny into the chamber to drain her of her life so he can become, stronger, for the lack of a better word, and harry finds out where the chamber is and with the help of Fawkes pulls the sword of Gryffindor out of the school sorting hat" everyone looks impressed at that "and kills the Basilisk –"

"So that's the monster?" several people ask at once. Hermione nods and continues

"And destroys the diary which in effect destroys Tom Riddle aka Voldemort" She looks around at all the shocked faces "let's take an thirty minute break to let all this sink in" she answered a few questions, she figured they needed a break before she went over her third year with them. Just before she was about to continue she got a Harry sent her another text.

**Malfoy will be there in an hour. Hope your well**

Ok so I know it has been a while since I updated so I am going to post this even though it is a short chapter and then post another longer chapter later tonight.


	8. Ch8 Malfoy, Draco Malfoy

I am so sorry it has been way to long since I updated! A BIG thank you to my cousin for being a CONSTANT reminder to update this story! Thank you to everyone that added my story to favorites or alerts, and all the lovely reviews!

Ok now to answer some of the questions I have got, sorry if I missed any.

Ok I don't have a time set that I update but I'm going to try to update a few times a week if not more.

I may bring harry in but it would be temporarily, until they finish the books.

As for Moody I always thought he would be more observant then talkative

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters; they belong to J. K. Rowling

She looked up from her phone to see everyone staring at her.

"Was that my son?" James said grinning at having a son.

"Yes, we have someone coming to visit us for a while." She said looking towards the Malfoys. "Draco will be here in an hour I will finish filling everyone in when he gets here, until then let's just practice getting along and getting to know one another." She said with a smile. For the most part everyone seemed to be getting along. James and Lily were happily discussing their son together. Albus and Minerva were talking about the future of their school. The Longbottoms and Moody were discussing Auror training. The Malfoys were oddly quite thinking about meeting their son. An ecstatic Tonks was pursuing conversation with a bashful Remus. The black brothers were talking quietly catching up on lost time. To Hermione's right Severus was looking down as if he just wanted to disappear.

"Hey" she said nudging him slightly. He looked like a lost little boy, not something she would have associated her old professor with but then again, did anyone ever really take the time to get to know him? Was that what twenty years of being a chest piece for two of the world's most powerful wizards would do to a person? As much as she respected Dumbledore it would be a lie to say he didn't exploit Snape's weakness.

"Hey" he said softly not looking up.

"Can I ask you a question? You won't have to answer" She asked softly. He just nodded.

"What made you choose to become a deatheater, I understand that if that is too personal but I am very curious" She said softly enough to keep any accusation from her voice. Neither of them noticed Lily and Sirius try to inconspicuously listen in.

"I just wanted friends, to fit in somewhere, for the most part I never really had any friends, I got tired of being alone, I didn't want to hurt people." He explained almost pleading for her to understand, he wanted to keep her kindness and respect. She just patted his back and smiled at him to let him know she understood, even if she didn't approve. She wasn't sure words would do her any good. Next to him Lily was tearing up with regret for her childhood friend, and immediately turned around to start making amends. Hermione turned away to give them some time and saw Sirius looking down at her.

"I never realized what our bulling did to him" Sirius said slightly dazed as if pulling up an old memory. _**He hexed Malfoy for her simply because she was nice to him. What must his life be like to show such gratitude in return for simple kindness?**_

"It's not too late, you never know, he might be a good friend to have." She said but then after a moment of silence added "But you should at least make peace with him because he is a formidable enemy" that seemed to pull him out of his daze and he nodded solemnly

"Yesterday, when you said that you missed me, did that mean that we were friends?" he asked after a moment.

"Sort of, Harry and I rescued you from the dementors in my third year, and in my fifth I stayed at the order headquarters and so we all had a lot of time to get to know each other, you were always telling a story that would make me laugh so hard I forgot there was a war brewing" She laughed slightly at the last part while he smiled and shook his head.

"And I thought your first two years sounded eventful, so why is Malfoy coming?"

"I am hoping he will be able to encourage his parents to be helpful, he actually is a rather nice person since the war." She answered looking thoughtful. They continued to talk about random things for the rest of the hour. As the hour came to a close she noticed Narcissa's eyes kept darting towards the door, a few minutes later she got another text from an unknown number.

**I'm outside the room, can I come in now? **

I mentally told the room to allow him admittance. And a tall, handsome, blonde boy stepped cautiously into the room. Narcissa stood up and looked like she wanted nothing more than to pull him into a hug but she restrained herself. He had an odd look on his face and gave her a curt nod before going to sit between Hermione and his godfather. Narcissa looked like her heart had broken in half. Hermione put a gentle hand on his shoulder and motioned for him to follow her into another room.

She didn't even have to ask

"I just keep thinking about how they raised me to be such a bigot, and how they handed me over to be a deatheater. My dad's a monster, and my mom should have stopped him, not encourage him. I love them, but I can't stand to look at them right now." He was looking down at his feet he took a deep breath before continuing

"I hate what they tried to make me become" not knowing what else to do she went over and patted his back.

"But you changed, and you should be proud! Now is your chance to show them they are wrong, show them how to change" He nodded while she thought of what else to say. "They were really excited about meeting you"

He smile a very unconvincing smile before walking out and getting pulled into a cautious hug by his mother, while his father just stared down at the table.

"I'm so sorry. I never wanted you to follow in our footsteps" she said full of tears. Draco swallowed back the lump in his throat and nodded before being dragged across the room to sit between his parents.

OK sorry it is so short i have to got to work and it has been so long since i updated i wanted to put atleast some of it up.


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